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First Flight (episode)
Archer reflects on his days in the NX test program when he is told of the death of an old rival. Summary The Enterprise detects a nebula of what they believe to be dark matter. But Captain Archer's excitement at discovering the nebula is dampened when Admiral Forrest contacts him and informs him than an old comrade, A.G. Robinson, had died in a mountaineering accident. After Trip loads six warheads onto a shuttlepod to excite the dark matter, Archer and T'Pol take the shuttlepod out to the nebula. After departure, T'Pol inquires about Robinson. Archer begins to tell her of when they had served in Starfleet together. Past Commander Jonathan Archer meets with Commodore Forrest and proudly announces that he achieved a 92% efficiency in the warp reactor simulation. But he is disappointed when Forrest tells him that Robinson had been selected to pilot the NX-Alpha. The next morning, however, Robinson easily breaks the Warp 2 barrier. But when he ignores orders to drop to impulse, he accelerates and the ship explodes shortly after reaching warp 2.2. Robinson, fortunately, survived by jettisoning an escape pod while at warp. The Vulcans immediately claim that this proves that Humans are progressing in warp technology too quickly, and that the warp program will have to be postponed and the warp engine built from scratch. Archer expresses outrage at the idea, and he is joined by Charles Tucker, an engineer working on the NX program. Later in the 602 Club, Archer and his new friend Trip agree that it isn't the engine at fault, but rather the intermix ratio. Further adding to Archer's anger is that Robinson admits that he faced the Vulcans and blamed the destruction of the NX-Alpha on Henry Archer's warp engine design. Archer and Robinson get into a fight which is shortly broken up. Later, Archer discovers Robinson in the locker room packing, and convinces him that if they could get the intermix right, the ship would achieve stable warp flight. Robinson suggest that they test the theory by stealing the NX-Beta. Archer reluctantly agrees. With the assistance of Trip on the ground, Archer and Robinson launch the NX-Beta and enter warp. As Starfleet Security realises that the ship has been stolen, the NX-Beta encounters similar problems that destroyed the NX-Alpha. However, just as security moves in on Trip, Archer proudly announces that they are maintaining a steady warp 2.5, thus proving the engine design works. Present Archer tells T'Pol that the Vulcans grounded the warp ships until every possible simulation could be run. After a year, however, they admitted that the engine was sound after all. They launch the final two warheads, the previous four having failed, and are rewarded with a nebula appearing before their eyes. Back on the Enterprise, T'Pol makes the suggestion to Archer that the dark matter cloud be named the Robinson Nebula, after A.G. Robinson. Memorable Quotes "You remember what Buzz Aldrin said when he stepped onto the moon?" "No." "Nobody does. Because Armstrong went first." :- Archer and Ruby "If my father were here, he'll be asking: What are we waiting for?" :- Archer "Optimism doesn't alter the laws of physics." :- T'Pol Background Information * This is the 50th episode of the series produced. * Trip refers to Captain Jefferies, an engineer who worked on the NX program in the 2140s who later helped designed the NX class. This is a reference to Matt Jefferies who was the art director of Star Trek: The Original Series and designed the ''Enterprise'', the ''D7''-class Klingon battle cruiser, the Romulan Bird-of-Prey and many other ships. The Jefferies tubes are also named after him. He died on July 21, 2003, two months after this episode first aired. * In the 602 Club there are paintings and patches of many of the spacecraft mentioned on Star Trek, including the DY-100 (possibly Khan Noonien Singh's ship), the Phoenix, the NX-Alpha, and the [[USS Enterprise (XCV 330)|USS Enterprise (XCV 330)]]. A patch of the Earth-Saturn probe, featuring Christopher, and added astronauts O'Herlihy and Fontana, named after the director and writer of "Tomorrow is Yesterday", the episode where it was mentioned. * Also in the bar is the Rings game from VOY: "Fair Haven". * Dominic Keating (Lt. Malcolm Reed), John Billingsley (Dr. Phlox) and Anthony Montgomery (Ensign Travis Mayweather) do not appear in this episode. Linda Park (Ensign Hoshi Sato) appears in one scene and has only one line. *Vaughn Armstrong, Michael Canavan and Victor Bevine all guest starred in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Armstrong played Danar in "Past Prologue" and Seskal in "When It Rains..." and "The Dogs of War". Canavan played Tamal in "Defiant" and Bevine played Belar in "Things Past". LeVar Burton directed Bevine in the latter episode and this one. Links and References Guest Stars *Brigid Brannaugh as Ruby *Vaughn Armstrong as Maxwell Forrest Special Guest Star *Keith Carradine as A.G. Robinson Co-Stars *Michael Canavan as Vulcan Advisor *Victor Bevine as Flight Controller *John B. Moody as Security Officer * Unknown actor as Leo References 602 Club; Aldrin, Buzz; Alice Springs; Armstrong, Neil; beer; bourbon; Caroline; Chester; Columbia (NX-02); court-martial; Cyrus; Duvall; [[USS Enterprise (XCV 330)|USS Enterprise (XCV 330)]]; escape pod; Fontana: Gardner; Holmes, Sherlock; Italy; Jefferies; Jupiter; Jupiter, moons of; Luna; Mount McKinley; midnight oil; mushrooms; New Berlin; NX Control; NX program; NX-Alpha; NX-Beta; NX-Delta; NX class; O'Herlihy; Robinson Nebula; Rosalie; San Francisco; Starfleet museum; Vulcan; Vulcan Advisory Council; Vulcan database; Vulcan Science Directorate; Warp 2 barrier; warp barrier; Warp drive; XCV type; Category: ENT episodesde:Erstflugnl:First Flight